Electrical connector



June 23, 1942. A, E, coNNoRs ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed March 24, 1941 Patented June 23, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Anna E. Connors, Portland, Oreg.

Application March 24, 1941, Serial No. 384,992

1 Claim.

This invention relates to electrical connectors, and its general object is to provide a connector by which an electrical unit, such as a lamp bulb, plug or the like can be instantly connected or disconnected with respect to its socket member, -yet when seated therein, a perfect contact is made, and casual removal or displacement is practically impossible.

A further object is to provide an electrical connector that includes a socket member having an outwardly ared socket and the unit, such as a lamp bulb or plug has a tapered portion to facilitate the application thereof within the socket and thereby eliminates the necessity of carefully aligning the unit with the socket member when connecting the same together, and with that feature coupled with the expeditious connection and disconnection of the unit with re- A spect to its socket member, it will be obvious that this connector is materially advantageous over the screw type now in general use.

Another object is to provide an electrical connector of the character set forth, that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and extremely efficient in operation, use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specically pointed out in the appended claim.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like .or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view partly in section, illustrating a lamp bulb and socket member constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan View of the socket member.

Figure 3 is a side view of the socket member per se, with parts broken away and in section.

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken through a plug constructed in accordance with my invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be noted that the socket member in the form shown is of the pull chain type, but it can be of the turn or push button type. In any event, the socket member includes a cap I detachably associated with the body 2 and the latter is formed from any suitable insulating material to provide a skirt 3.

Fixed to the'body upon opposite sides of a. centrally disposed enlargement 4, by conductor fasteners 5 such as bolts, rivets or the like, are a pair of spring conductor strips 6 which extend into the skirt for disposal in close proximity thereto and Ain parallelism with each other, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The side faces of the enlargement '4 are straight and the fixed ends of the strips 6 bear against said side faces to prevent any possibility of rotation of the strips, so that they will be disposed in` face to face relation with each other at all times, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Mounted within the skirt and xed to the centrally disposed enlargement 4 by a rivet or the like 'I is a substantially bell shaped cup member 8 providing a tapered socket having an outwardly flared outer end portion, as best shown in Figure 3, and said cup member which is made from insulating material has diametrically opposed bayonet slots 9 therein, which extend from its outer end in decreasing width to the circumferentially disposed portions I0 thereof, as likewise best shown in Figure 3. The inner ends of the circumferentially disposed portions I0 are downwardly directed to provide seats II.

The lamp bulb unit, as shown in Figure 1 includes the usual bulb body I2 and inwardly tapered neck portion I3 which is formed to provide diametrically opposed conical teat like projections I4, through which extend conductors I5 and the outer ends of the conductors I5 have at disk like contact heads I6 formed thereon that bear against the projections I4 to provide a leakproof connection, as will be apparent. The

opposite ends of the conductors I5 are suitablyconnected to the filament of the bulb, in the usual manner.

From the above description and disclosure in Figure 1, it will be obvious that the neck of the lamp bulb is inserted within the socket provided by the cup member 8, with the projections I4 extending into the slots I0. When the projections reach the circumferentially disposed portions of the slots, the bulb is turned for disposing the projections therein and within the seats I I which have the contact strips 6 arranged in registration therewith, so that the heads I6 will engage said strips when the bulb is completely seated, as clearly shown in Figure 1.

'I'he plug unit, as shown ln Figure 4 includes a substantially semi-circular cap portion I1 provided with the usual flanged opening I8 for the passage of connector wires therethrough, and the cap has its peripheral portion thickened for reinforcing the same, as well as is interiorly threaded for threadedly receiving one end portion of a body 2 ls of insulating materias and which is inwardly tapered from its connection with the cap and terminates in a rounded outer end. By that construction, it will be obvious thatthe body l! is detachably associated with the cap portion and the body has diametrically opposed conical teat like projections 20 formed thereon adjacent toits outer end. Extending through the body Il and the projections 20 are conductors 2| having hat disk like contact heads 22 formed on the-ends thereof that terminate ,with the ends of the proiections 20, while the opposite ends of the conductors 2| are formed or otherwise secured to interiorly threaded terminal sleeves 2l having binding screws 2l threaded therein for connecting wire conductors to the plug unit, as will be apparent.

It will be obvious from the construction of yFigure 4 that the plug unit is associated with the socket member in exactly the same manner as the lamp unit, and due to the bayonet slot and projection connection between the units and the socket member, it will be further obvious that casual displacement or removal of the units from the socket member is practically impossible.

I It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features or the invention will be readily/ apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made i in the construction and in the combination and arrangement ofthe several parts. provided that silioh changes fall within the scope o! the appended c aim. y

What I claim is: A socket for the reception of an electrical device in which the circuit carrying conductors termi.

receiving said projections, and, a pair of spaced parallel spring strip contact members fixed to the body and extending therefrom' for disposal between the skirt and the cup member and registering with the slots for disposal in the path of the contacts of said device;

ANNA E. CONNOBS. 

